Shock as O2 secures Irish iPhone deal
In news which will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody at all, O2 has just announced it is to be the sole partner for the Apple iPhone in the Republic of Ireland. The phones will go on sale here on March 14th. The handsets are going to cost €399 for the 8 gigabyte version and €499 for the 16 gigabyte one - that seems a bit steep to me but maybe I’m just bitter because I’m tied to the Vodafone network and won’t be able to get one. Three new iPhone tariffs will be available from O2, starting at €45, all of which will include anytime minutes, texts and a 1GB data bundle (Data use in excess of the 1GB allowance will be charged at 2c per MB excluding roaming, thanks to Justin for correcting my earlier mistake). People signing up will also have to commit to an 18-month contract.
Here are the price plans from the 02 presser
Monthly charge
€45
Anytime minutes included
175
Texts included
100
Data
1GB
Additional calls
20c
Additional texts
10c
Monthly charge
€65
Anytime minutes included
350
Texts included
150
Data
1GB
Additional calls
20c
Additional texts
10c
Monthly charge
€100
Anytime minutes included
700
Texts included
250
Data
1GB
Additional calls
20c
Additional texts
10c
Conor are those “verbal” mobile phone contracts enforceable? A guy from o2 called me recently to advice updating my price plan, which I did, and he told me I had to agree to extend my contract, which I said I couldn’t. He told me that it was just a verbal undertaking anyhow and I could duck out of it if I had to leave the country.
What’s the deal with this? (I should really just call consumer affairs but hopefully you’re in a accommodating mood)
Comment by Steve K | February 28, 2008 at 12:06 pmI would have been tempted if it had been with Vodafone. As is I am more than happy with my iPod touch, which does everything the iPhone, does bar make calls and receive texts.
I can send and receive all my email on it; full internet browser; calendar; video player; contact list and it also plays music.
Comment by Ivor | February 28, 2008 at 12:36 pmYeah Ivor but the iPhone is an even newer toy and all the coolest people will have one!
Comment by Conor | February 28, 2008 at 12:39 pmthat’s 1 gigabyte of data per *month*? talk about useless! nice work Apple, you’ve really maximised the utility of your product in the Irish marketplace with this deal.
The Irish mobile companies should really figure out the concept of unlimited data… all it’d take is for one of them to break and get all those iPhone and web-user customers…
Comment by Justin | February 28, 2008 at 12:47 pmConor, I’ll just hold my iPod up to my ear and pretend.
Comment by Ivor | February 28, 2008 at 12:53 pmConor, compare the rates between Uk and Ireland - pretty stingy package here. Any reason you know?
45 euro/mo: 175 minutes, 100 texts, 1GB data
65 euro/mo: 350 minutes, 150 texts, 1GB data
100 euro/mo: 700 minutes, 250 texts, 1GB data
Minutes Texts
Comment by Ivor | February 28, 2008 at 1:33 pm£35 (€46) 600 minutes 500 texts.
£45 (€60) 1200 minutes 500 texts.
£75 (€99) 3000 minutes 500 texts.
‘(and no more than that, no matter how much you pay).’
actually, it’ll be 2 cents per MB after that. truly atrocious.
Comment by Justin | February 28, 2008 at 1:59 pm€500 for the 16Gb model … which is €336 in US at todays exchange rate. Thats almost a 50% markup. Even allowing for vat thats pretty hefty. In the UK its €436. After the vat is taken into account thats a €42 increase.
Comment by David Greene | February 28, 2008 at 2:24 pmOur revenge was the laughter of children. There’s is €42 mark-ups from the UK.
Comment by Steve K | February 28, 2008 at 5:01 pmSteve, the guy who said it was just a verbal undertaking which you could duck out of at any time wasn’t right. I’ve had a quick look at the 02 site and amongst the terms and conditions is this gem: “Where you request that a new service or price plan be added to your account over the phone and we agree to provide such new service or pricing plan to you, this will constitute a verbal contract between O2 and you. O2 will make reasonable endeavours to ensure you receive written confirmation of such changes.”
A verbal contract like this is legally enforceable and even more so because when you signed up to them you committed to making it so. Now I have no idea how far they would pursue you should you flee the country but even so…
Oh and I like the way 02 will make “reasonable endevours” what ever that is supposed to mean!
Comment by Conor | February 28, 2008 at 7:46 pmIt seems odd that they would insist on a 18 month contract. I presume it’s to do with the deal with Apple. Apple seem to be working hard to break the mould where the operators and not the handset manufacturers are in control.
Thought they do seem to be shooting themselves in the foot. Most people upgrade after 12 months so Apple are going to losing out in potential sales after 12 months.
Furthermore, this iPhone isn’t a 3G phone (As I am led to believe) so it will be like watching a nice pastel paint dry.
I presume that you can migrate with your iPhone to another network as soon as your contract expires?
Comment by Brian | March 2, 2008 at 4:12 pm